Animal experiments will be superfluous in the future?

Forschungsverbund is looking for alternatives to animal experiments

08/01/2015

Animal experiments are still one of the dark side of modern medical research. Millions of times animals worldwide are subjected to severe suffering for experimental purposes. The research network „BB3R“, in which, among others, the Free University (FU) Berlin, the Technical University (TU) Berlin, the Charité University Medicine, the University of Potsdam and the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) have joined forces, therefore, is looking for alternatives to animal experiments and has already the first Results presented.

For example, in the future, artificially derived human skin cells, as currently being tested in the research network, could be used for skin cancer research, thus completely replacing animal experiments on nude mice, which had previously been the norm, reports the FU Berlin. The effects of cosmetics and chemicals could also be tested on the basis of artificial skin cells without animal experiments, explains the pharmacologist Monika Schäfer-Korting, Vice President of Freie Universität Berlin (FU).

Reduction of animal experiments
The criticism of animal experiments not only refers to ethical-moral concerns, but also expresses considerable doubts about the validity of animal experiments. Because despite many similarities, there are clear differences between the human organism and the animals used. The results are by no means always transferable. Nevertheless, millions of vertebrates per year in Germany alone lose their lives for experimental purposes. The research network „BBR3“ has therefore set itself the goal of developing alternative methods to animal experiments. „It stands BBfor the region Berlin-Brandenburg, the abbreviation 3Rfor the reduction, the refinement and the replacement of animal experiments“, reported the FU Berlin.

Ban on animal testing in the cosmetics industry
The BBR3 research project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Monika Schäfer-Korting commented on this „Focus Online“, that with political pressure and, above all, the provision of funding for research, a renunciation of many animal experiments is possible. As an example of the political pressure, the expert mentions the ban on animal experiments for the cosmetics industry, which has been in effect since 2013 in all EU countries. In the meantime, alternative methods are available that make animal experiments unnecessary. In other areas, however, the pharmaceutical industry is far from being ready to seriously consider abandoning animal testing.

Pharmaceutical research continues to rely on animal experiments
Despite the known weaknesses of animal experiments and the ethical-moral concerns had in recent years, an increase in animal experiments to be recorded in pharmaceutical research, since it represents a great lure, with the new knowledge from bioinformatics in mice single genes or eliminate them to plant human genes, reports Monika Schäfer-Korting in the article by „Focus Online“. The only positive thing is here, „that in the meantime fewer animals are needed for such experiments than at the beginning.“ Nevertheless, just under three million vertebrates were used for experiments and other scientific purposes in Germany in 2013, with nearly 90 percent of them being rodents (especially mice and rats) „Focus Online“ citing the figures of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture. With 422,000 laboratory animals, Berlin has taken top spot nationwide, not least because a lot of basic research is being conducted in the capital.

Miniature models of the human organism
In order to test the systemic effect of new drugs without animal experiments, miniaturized versions of the organs are currently being reproduced on a chip at the Technical University of Berlin and connected to each other through a type of circuit. By this so-called multi-organ chip (MOC) technology was „It is possible to analyze aspects of human physiology through the in vivo-like interaction of miniaturized multi-organ models in an in vitro model“, reports Professor Roland Lauster from the Institute of Biotechnology at the TU Berlin. Developing a complete model of the human organism that reflects all the processes in the body and allows testing without living animals or humans would actually be a breakthrough success and would greatly facilitate medical research.

90 percent of animal experiments avoidable
The pharmacologist Monika Schäfer-Korting comes to the conclusion that animal experiments are already largely superfluous. On the basis of modern biotechnology and bioinformatics also the pharmaceutical research in the future can get along 90 percent without animal experiments, so the physician on. Only in highly complex reactions such as the test of new antihypertensive drugs will be difficult, reports the expert opposite „Focus Online“. The development of systemic models, however, also offers additional opportunities, for example for the study of autoimmune diseases and allergies. „At the moment it is about getting immune cells into the skin models“, cited „Focus Online“ the scientist. When triggering an immune reaction, various reactions of the cells can subsequently be analyzed, which is a promising approach for allergy research. (Fp)